Compliant materials such as silicone and/or various elastomers may compress when force is applied. Though portions of such compliant materials may compress when force is applied to a surface, the compression of those portions may cause a corresponding expansion of another portion of the compliant material. For example, if force is applied to a top surface of a compliant material to compress the compliant material in a vertical direction, the compression may cause the compliant material to correspondingly expand in a horizontal direction.
In many uses of such compliant materials, the expansion of the compliant material corresponding to a compression under force may be intentional. For example, a gasket and/or other kind of seal may be designed such that compression of one portion causes another portion to expand in order to form a seal for components of an apparatus or system.